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13 Gifts
13 Gifts is the third book in the Willow Falls series by Wendy Mass. The book before it is Finally and the book that follows it is The Last Present. Synopsis (from book) It doesn't take long for Tara Brennan to realize that breaking into school to steal a goat is not a good idea. As punishment for her crimes, Tara's parents send her to the sleepy town of Willow Falls to stay with relatives she hardly knows, including her strange younger cousin Emily. Tara quickly learns that Emily isn't even remotely the strangest person in town. There's a boy who sings at the bottom of an empty pool, two best friends who use blackboards to communicate, and a girl who may or may not be dating the world's hottest teen movie star. Due to another lapse in judgment, Tara finds herself beholden to perhaps the strangest person of all: Angelina D'Angelo. If Tara can't collect thirteen mysterious objects for the old woman in time for her thirteenth birthday, the consequences will be REALLY BAD. With a big dose of birthday magic, Tara's adventures take her and her new friends to places they never thought they'd find, some in the real world, and a lot deep inside themselves. Summary When Tara Brennan stole her principal's goat so she could fit in with the popular kids at her school, her parents send her to live with her Aunt Bethany, Uncle Roger, and her younger cousin Emily St. Claire in the tiny town of Willow Falls for the summer as punishment while they go on a research project in Madagascar. Tara feels out of place everywhere she goes, and moving practically every year does not help. On the train ride to Willow Falls, Tara has her phone, her mom's iPod, and two hundred dollars stolen from under her nose. When she arrives at Willow Falls, she surprisingly makes friends quickly with Rory Swenson, David Goldberg, Amanda Ellerby, and Leo Fitzpatrick. She wants to get back her money so she can buy another iPod to replace the stolen one and hopefully find a bar mitzvah gift to give to David. She meets up with Angelina D'Angelo, who says that she can help, as long as Tara finds 13 unique items for her by her 13th birthday. Tara and her new friends start searching for the items on Angelina's list. Later, while in Aunt Bethany and Uncle Rogers' attic, Tara discovers that Angelina has been asking her to collect items that appear in "Fiddler On The Roof", a play Willow Falls was going to do but canceled. Tara confronts Angelina and she ends up putting on the play. After the play, Tara finds out a shocking secret from her parents that explains why she is in Willow Falls. At David's bar mitzvah the next day, Amanda approaches Tara and says that she and Leo have to do something important that involves Grace Kelly, thus beginning the plot in the fourth book, The Last Present. Category:Books